What does it mean for a rural Indian woman to achieve justice? What roles do survivor-led grassroot organizations play in this journey to justice? How can other stakeholders understand on-ground realities & better support GROs? This report, created through lived experience, interviews, focus group discussions and workshops, shares on-ground realities of millions of women surviving violence in rural India and the critical life-saving role grassroot organizations play in this long, elusive journey to justice.

This research was awarded the 2019 Jane Mansbridge Award by Harvard University. A case study of an Indian organization is presented with recruitment data analysis and strategies to reduce bias in its recruitment process. A Gender Equity Methodology (GEM) framework is developed using research experiments conducted mostly in developed economy settings and viewing them through the lens of the Indian context. The framework rests on three pillars: Setting up systems; Recruitment; and, Promotion and participation and has three rating categories for organizations to continuously improve on gender equity.